


HYDRA's Little Spider

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, Big Sister Wanda Maximoff, Gen, Hinted Bucky/Natasha, Hydra Peter Parker, Not Beta Read, Peter Parker Meets the Avengers, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Superfamily (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22945225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: (THIS IS OLD, SHITTY AND RUSHED. DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE EXPECTING HIGH QUALITY WORK.)Peter was taken by HYDRA when he was only 5 and was ruthlessly trained as the best assassin HYDRA had ever produced. He was injected with a strange substance which gave him spider powers, among other enhancements. In short, he was scarily dangerous. However, Peter always knew, deep down, that what he was doing was wrong. So, he escaped, at age 15.What's going to happen when the Earth’s mightiest heroes hear of the new vigilante, Spider-Man, and go to detain him? Will they figure anything out about him? And will Peter be locked up in the Raft forever or left alone, for the first time in his life?Thereisone thing the Avengers do know: spiders aren’t very easy to catch.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff & Peter Parker
Comments: 54
Kudos: 634
Collections: Collection of stories in which no one knows that Peter is Spiderman





	1. Freedom is a gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now, Thor is off-world and everyone else from AOU is present.

**Peter’s POV**

Pain.

****

That’s all he could feel.

****

Pain, pain and more pain. 

****

They tortured him, over and over and over again, days filled with never-ending agony.

****

The Spider didn’t remember many things, just some small flashbacks when he was alone, shivering in his cell. He remembered snippets of a life he had lost, one that wasn’t constantly filled with fear. 

****

That life was gone.

****

And if there was one thing that the Spider knew, it was this place which was his ‘home’ was evil and he hated it. He hated all of it.  
He hated the way the agents here would hurt him until he gave in.  
He hated how they brainwashed him every single time he misbehaved, even though it never worked and he would have to act under their control, just to get them to stop.  
He hated how he was forced to kill and torture others. He hated how little control he had.

****

HYDRA was a bitch, that was for sure.  


* * *

The Spider knew he couldn’t take it anymore. His mind rebelliously started plotting ways to escape this hellhole. He knew HYDRA had impenetrable security and guards posted at every exit, so he would have to escape while he was on a mission. HYDRA wouldn’t just leave the Spider alone if they knew he was still alive.

****

He would have to fake his death. But how? He was HYDRA’s best assassin, he wouldn’t just carelessly die and he recovered quickly from injuries. How to fake, how to fake…

****

A cold smirk graced his lips. He knew exactly what he would do.  


* * *

He stood to attention, face blank of emotion, body rigid with ten years of training. The agent glared down at the Spider, displeasure radiating from every pore.

****

“Вы найдете эту цель и уничтожьте его. Вы не подведете, или вы столкнетесь с последствиями.” (You will find this target and eliminate him. You will not fail, or you will face the consequences.)

****

The Spider’s face betrayed no emotion as he responded, coldly.

****

“Да Мастер” (Yes, Master)  


* * *

The Spider crouched in the shadows, searching intently for his victim. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the perfect prey and within seconds, he had the victim restrained and knocked unconscious. The Spider kept to the shadow and crawled out of the town, his plan going perfectly. 

****

The Spider dragged the victim to a dark, isolated wood and dropped him onto the ground. Face still emotionless, he removed his tracker and attached it to the unconscious body, also placing his weapons and other identification near it. He removed his backup web-shooters and placed a bomb near the body, before starting the countdown and flipping gracefully out of range.

****

He was nearly out of the wood when the bomb went off, destroying the body’s features and giving HYDRA the perfect decoy.

****

The Spider had never felt so free.  


* * *

_Five months later…_

****

The Spider crouched in the shadows of a dark alleyway, cocking his head, listening for trouble. He silently mused over all the events, all the choices that had brought him there. He had decided to stay in this large, busy city because if HYDRA was to be looking for him, a large city would be the hardest to find him.

****

A lot had transpired in these few months of freedom. He had discovered a lot more about how normal humans lived their lives, what was socially acceptable and what was not and how to survive in the streets of New York. It wasn’t too bad, definitely nowhere near as bad as HYDRA. He scavenged enough to survive, and stole only when it was really necessary. His skills meant that he went undetected so far, so HYDRA could never find him in civilian form. 

****

One of the most important things he had learned so far was the existence of good superheroes, more specifically, the Avengers. HYDRA had drilled into him that the Avengers were evil, but now the Spider knew differently.

****

He saw how the people on the street idolised them and constantly praised them for saving them. This stirred a familiar emotion in the Spider’s chest.

****

Guilt.

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Guilt for all the things he had done, all the lives he had taken and all the other lives he had destroyed. There was plenty of red on his ledger and the guilt had eaten him alive. So he did the most obvious thing that could alleviate some of that guilt.

****

He became a hero. 

****

He became the vigilante Spider-Man and helped protect Queens and its surrounding areas. Every time he helped someone, saved someone from a horrible fate or apprehended a criminal, a strange twinge of satisfaction, of the hope that he could one day be redeemable. He refrained from killing and wounding too much, and focused on putting criminals in jail and helping people with the small things which put a smile on their face for the rest of the day.

****

He repainted the HYDRA stealth suit red and blue, getting rid of the constant HYDRA black and crafted a mask. He ripped off the HYDRA octopus and upgraded the suit with parts he scavenged. He didn’t care if HYDRA knew of his existence now. Too many people now depended on him and if it really came down to it, the Spider could easily disappear back into the crowd. They would never find him again. It was a drastically different mindset to one he originally had when he escaped.

****

For once, the Spider was finally in control of his life and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

****

* * *

****

**Tony’s POV**

****

****

Tony groaned loudly when he got the message from FRIDAY.

****

****

****

“What does that pirate want now?” He muttered to himself, slowly getting up from his workbench and stretching. Still grumbling under his breath, Tony slowly made his way up to the meeting room where all the team meetings were held.

****

****

****

After purposely dawdling along the corridors, he stumbled into the meeting room and was met by several disapproving stares. He smirked and asked innocently, “So what’s happening?” The eyepatch man himself sighed a long-suffering sigh and started the meeting.

****

****

****

“As you all know, there is a new vigilante in New York. He goes by the name ‘Spider-Man’ and seems to be based mainly in Queens. He first appeared approximately four months ago.”

****

****

****

Tony frowned and said, “Isn’t he just a low level vigilante? Why should we care?” Nick Fury glared at him and continued. “It seems that he is… enhanced and so far the people like him. (at this point, Sam snorted and muttered, “Except the Daily Bugle.”) We need to know his motives, abilities and who he is. We basically have nothing and we want to make sure that he doesn’t turn on us.” Natasha’s expression didn’t falter. “So basically, you want us to gather information ?” Fury nodded and said, “You start tonight.”  


* * *

Tony reclined on the sofa while the others discussed tactics. Steve, the ever so sensible man he was, suggested they merely approach the vigilante and ask him to come along. The others looked slightly skeptical but didn’t argue. Bucky spoke up for the first time.

****

****

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“What if he doesn’t want to come?”

****

****

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Steve looked momentarily thrown, as if he didn’t expect anyone to turn down an Avengers invitation. Clint nodded and said, “If he’s been keeping his identity secret for so long, it might mean he doesn’t want anyone to help him. He looks pretty independent from the videos we’ve seen.” 

****

****

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Tony snorted. “That’s why Fury wanted all of us… in case that little punk doesn’t want to come along.” The rest went back to formulating backup plans. They decided to leave Bruce and Vision on surveillance and Clint, Wanda, Sam as their backup. Tony, Steve and Natasha were sent to directly contact Spider-Man. Rhodey and Bucky had decided to sit this one out.

****

****

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The team was now mindlessly waiting around, all geared up and weapons at the ready. Finally, FRIDAY announced: “Spider-Man has been spotted in Queens at **** ***** ***.” The team smirked at Steve, who only sighed and said.

****

****

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“Avengers…”

****

****

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“Assemble.”  


* * *

Tony soared over the city, Steve and Natasha in a small helicopter following behind. The others also followed, albeit hidden as they didn’t want to scare Spider-Man away. They finally sighted the vigilante, who was standing motionless on the roof of a tall building, looking over the city. Tony landed behind the vigilante silently, Steve and Natasha also coming up beside him. The vigilante didn’t seem to have noticed them yet.

****

****

****

“I know you’re there. I can hear you.” 

****

****

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The vigilante turned around, the white lenses of the mask glaring coldly at them. He tilted his head slightly.

****

****

****

“You’re really not as stealthy as they give you credit for.”

****

****

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Natasha’s face was cold, but Tony could detect a faint expression of curiosity and also… confusion? Steve stepped forward and said cautiously, “Look, we don’t want any trouble. We just need to know a few things about you. It’ll be a lot easier if you come with us. We don’t want to fight.”

****

****

****

Spider-Man turned his whole body to face them and said in a bitter tone. “Then you’ll do what? You’ll stop me from being who I am? You’ll take away the one thing that helps me forget? You’ll prevent me from erasing the red from my ledger? You’ll take me, lock me up and experiment on me like how THEY did?!” By this point, the vigilante’s voice had risen and anguish clearly coloured his voice. He was pacing and a faint accent had entered his voice.

****

****

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Steve’s face was filled with sorrow and Natasha’s had a barely decipherable look of pity on it, only visible to those who knew her really well or were extraordinarily perceptive. The vigilante snapped his head towards her. “Don’t. Pity. Me.” He growled and shot a web and swung away. Tony was the first to react, hissing into the comms, “We need to go after him.”

****

****

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The others immediately snapped into action, while Clint, Wanda and Sam no longer bothered to hide. They chased after the vigilante, who was swinging away at a rapid rate. Tony powered up his repulsors and blasted himself after him.

****

****

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They needed that information.

****

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* * *

**Peter’s POV**

****

********

The Spider swung away from the Avengers, trying to convince himself that they were good and HYDRA was bad. His heart rate accelerated, as he heard them come closer. Even if he knew that HYDRA was bad, its teachings were like mundane mildew, still clinging to his subconscious. This chase was like fertiliser to those corruptive thoughts.

********

****

********

The Spider started changing up his escape, flipping here and there in an irregular way with no pattern. He could sense the Avengers faltering behind him and felt a sense of victory. He swung into a dark alley and waited, heart hammering, to see if they would follow him. 

********

****

********

He closed his eyes, his other senses reaching out to survey his surroundings. He heard light footsteps coming closer and the faint disturbance of air above. Slowly, he crawled away from the spot, trying to find the darkest spot possible to hide from his pursuers. 

********

****

********

Suddenly, his sixth sense whistled and he instinctively held up a hand, which immediately closed around an arrow. He slowly turned his head to glare at the arrow- it was black and of extremely high quality. It was one of Hawkeye’s. The thing that enraged him the most was that at the arrow tip was a small tube of fluid with a needle tip. Those idiots were trying to knock him out.

********

****

********

He swung onto the top a nearby building and faced the Avengers, pure rage flowing through his veins. He struggled against the HYDRA side to him as he coldly surveyed those who were in front of him. Two more Avengers had joined their ranks. The Spider noticed a girl in red. He instantly recognized her- the Scarlet Witch, another HYDRA experiment. He narrowed his eyes at her, running through tactics in his head.

********

****

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She was the most dangerous here and he needed to neutralize her, but first, he was going to give the Avengers a piece of his mind. He opened his mouth, but before he could do so, his spider sense flared and he dodged a whole barrage of arrows sent his way. The others looked shocked as he threw an arrow in the archer’s direction, flinging him across the roof in front of him. 

********

****

********

Tony Stark, the Iron Man, the oh-so-wonderful human being, sighed and flipped open his face mask, making a strange symbol with his hands as he did so. Wanda Maximoff nodded, resigned, as she gathered her powers and wormed her way into the Spider’s mind. He fell to the floor, memories running through his mind as he struggled.

********

****

****_His parents’ faint faces…  
HYDRA storming through the doors…  
his dead parents lying on the floor…  
all the torture…  
the misery and pain and fear…  
the rigorous lessons…  
the exhausting training…  
all the experiments and injections…  
the failed brainwashing…  
killing…  
escaping…  
Freedom…_ ** **

****

********

He screamed, and with a tremendous effort, he kicked Wanda out of his mind. But she had already seen too much. He crouched in a defensive stance, assessing the situation again. Wanda’s expression was horrified, stricken, with tears streaming down her face. The Spider didn’t want or need her pity and did the most reasonable thing possible.

********

****

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He fled.

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And they didn’t try to follow him.

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********

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I kinda rushed this chapter so I’m not really sure how it turned out… definitely not my best. Please give feedback, leave kudos and don’t judge too hard.
> 
> Imma just go do my homework now.


	2. That is not received lightly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: swearing!!

The Spider sat against the wall in an empty alley, trying to regain control of his breathing after the resurgence of his memories, courtesy of Wanda. He closed his eyes and sighed, his brain running through all the images again. Unbidden, one particular memory surfaced. He saw a blurry image of two people in front of him. Were they his… parents? Frowning, he concentrated and recalled a soft voice.

 _“Hey, Pete, you need to go hide right now… “_  
Was that his mother? Who was ‘Pete’?  
_“They’re coming, Mary! Take Peter and go!”_  
Who was coming?  
_“Richard, HYDRA won’t stop until they find us. We need to leave him with May and Ben.”_  
Was this ‘Richard’ his father?  
_“There’s no time, they’re nearly here!”_  
A memory of being lifted and put in a closet.  
_“They’re here! Peter, darling, you need to be quiet, okay?”_  
Wait, what? Was that his name? Peter?

The Spider wrenched himself from his memory. He cursed Wanda and her weird tricks; his mind wasn’t even working properly now. Frustrated, he forced himself up and swung away, determined to regain control of his mind. He was mid-swing when his sixth sense acted up. Cautiously, he alighted on to the top of an apartment block and settled into a defensive stance. 

He sensed someone approaching from his left and instinctively shot a web, which was intercepted by a shield of red energy. He saw Wanda standing at the edge of the roof, a sorrowful expression on her face, eyes glowing red. The Spider instantly narrowed his eyes in mistrust. The young Avenger raised her hands up and extinguished her power.

“I just want to talk.”

“Did you bring the others?”

“No, I came alone. I figured you’d prefer that.”

The Spider slightly relaxed his stance as she sat down across from him, sensing her words to be true. Still suspicious, he also sat down cross-legged, waiting. Wanda sighed and said, “I saw what happened in your mind. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” The Spider snorted. “Maybe you should have thought of that before you actually did it.” Wanda nodded.

“But, I want to talk to you about what I saw. Were you… HYDRA?” The Spider shifted and scowled under his mask. “Yes, but I prefer to not affiliate myself with those asshats.” Wanda nodded. “Fair enough. How are you feeling though? Are you ok?” The Spider thought about that question for a while.

He thought about all he had been through. He thought about how tense and alert and _stressed_ he was all the time. He thought about what he did every day. He thought about how hungry he was all the time; even HYDRA provided enough food. He thought about how hard it was now, even though it was better than HYDRA. Only then did he realise how exhausted he was, how broken he actually was, how he kept shoving away and bottling up the negative feelings.

Only then did he realise he was not ok.

He wasn’t sure how it happened, but he was suddenly curled into himself, tears silently streaming down his face and soaking his mask. Wanda was at his side in a second, pulling him into a hug, providing him with a lifeline. He realised, logically, that he should be more wary of the person who had attacked his mind not one hour ago. He would have never allowed himself to be so _weak_ , HYDRA would never have let him. They would have tortured him ten times as painfully if he did. But, it felt so _good_ to finally be with someone and not all alone. His sixth sense wasn’t acting up anymore and he succumbed to the comfort of having someone who understood.

He relaxed against her side, for once at ease.  
“Do you want to come back to my apartment? No one else is there, maybe except for Vision, but he won’t tell.”  
The Spider looked at her uncertainly, trying to gauge if she was being truthful. She looked back, extremely serious and not a trace of deceit on her face. He thought back to his current situation and relented. Her face lit up and she led him to an apartment a few blocks away.

Curious, he asked her. “Why do you have an apartment if you live at the Tower?” She rolled her eyes and responded with, “Stark. He’s like that.” The Spider felt a genuine smile spreading across his face. It was the first one he had worn in years.  


* * *

The apartment was modest, reasonably sized and very clean. As he walked in, he hesitantly reached for his mask. “Can I really trust you?” He asked. Wanda nodded. “I won’t sell you out. Your secret is yours to tell.” That reassured him and he pulled off his mask. Wanda took one look at him and her face filled with horror.

“You’re so young.” She whispered. He shrugged, “Since when did HYDRA care about age?” She nodded. “Well then, Spider-Man, are you hungry?” The Spider looked at her doubtfully. She grinned slightly. “I won’t poison your food. And, you’d rather me cook than Vision. He is astonishingly bad.” The Spider smiled at this and settled himself on one of the couches.

He heard the stove turn on and the smell of food soon wafted over. Feeling his eyelids grow heavy, he closed his eyes, thinking _‘It won’t hurt to rest for a bit’._ All his senses blended together as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion. 

When he opened his eyes, it was dark outside and Wanda was watching the tv from the other sofa. Blinking sleepily, he realised he was covered in blankets. He mentally thanked Wanda as he buried himself further into the mountain of comfortable soft material. Hearing the noise, she turned to see Peter yawning. She grinned.

“Well hello, Sleeping Beauty. Did you sleep well?” The Spider nodded tiredly, not bothered to make an effort of speaking. Wanda got up and took something out of the microwave, placing it in front of the Spider. He peered curiously at the dish; it had long strands of a yellowish thing, with brownish-red blobs dumped on top. Seeing this, Wanda laughed and said,

“It’s spaghetti bolognese. Just… try it.” The Spider shrugged and took a bite. His eyes widened at the taste. “It’s actually… pretty good.” He paused. “Thank you.” Wanda grinned. “It’s ok.” There was an awkward silence then, each fidgeting slightly. The awkwardness was broken by the jangling of keys in the lock. All tiredness had gone, the Spider leapt to the ceiling and scurried towards a dark corner. He looked accusingly at Wanda.

She only shrugged. “It’s Vision. You have nothing to worry about.” He stayed on the ceiling, however, as a red figure with a cloak walked in. The figure removed the cloak and embraced Wanda before looking directly at the Spider, who shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t like how human yet alien the figure looked, with the glowing yellow stone in its head. The figure seemed to be assessing the Spider and said,

“You are not in any databases I have access to. To the governments, you do not exist.” The Spider nodded, slightly unnerved by the cool robotic quality of Vision’s voice. “I was HYDRA. They wouldn’t have me in databases if there was a chance someone could find me.” Vision nodded and asked, “Have you caught up with society yet?”

Caught off guard, the Spider merely stared at Vision in confusion, with Wanda stifling a giggle at the encounter. Vision tried again. “What did they teach you?” The Spider shrugged at this. “Everything, really. Everything except for social studies. They seemed to think ridiculously smart agents were a very good thing but they didn’t want us thinking about escaping.” Vision nodded before announcing to Wanda, “I think he should think about going to school.” Wanda looked startled at this.

“School? Why though? You already heard him, he’s already smarter than university professors!” The Spider also wanted to know the reasoning behind this statement. “If he wants to blend into the community, he needs to know how people act. School would be good for that. Besides, if he wants to get a job, he’ll need official qualifications and school would be useful for that. The universities would be too troublesome to get into.” Wanda thought over this before asking the Spider. “It’s up to you. Do you want to go to school?”

The Spider hesitated, mulling over the opportunity. On the one hand, it would be useful if he ever had to disappear again. On the other, it would be very hard to hide his past and his powers. However, if he wanted to stay permanently, it was true he needed to get a job, and for that, he needed school. The fact that he was so messed up, however, probably meant he would be too dangerous to go.

Finally coming to a decision, he hesitantly glanced over to Wanda before saying in a small voice. “I think… I want to give school a try.” Both looked relieved. “Natasha’s been teaching me stuff, I should be able to fake an identity. Vision, are you hacking into the databases yet?’ Wanda asked. Vision smirked slightly. ‘What, so robots can smirk now?’ Peter thought.

“Already one step ahead of you,” he replied. “Now, you are May Reilly, 38 years old. You are Spider-Man’s aunt. You live in an apartment in Queens and work as a nurse.” Wanda pouted at this. “Come on, I’m only 17!” Vision rolled his eyes. “You need to be believable. Now we just need a name for Spider-Man…” The Spider flipped gracefully onto the floor and gave a small smile.

“My name is Peter Parker.”  


* * *

Peter stood in front of the school, adjusting the straps of his bag. Wanda stood next to him, subtly changing the perceptions of the people around her. In the few weeks the Spi- wait, no Peter had been staying with the two heroes, they had grown a lot closer. Wanda was basically Peter’s sister by now and was always there for him whenever he had a panic attack, flashback or breakdown. Vision was that indifferent uncle who made sure that the Avengers were too busy to go after the vigilante again. 

Peter was originally going to leave the apartment, only coming to visit as he didn’t want to be a burden. However, the couple insisted that Peter stayed. Peter had protested, but they were so determined that he had finally relented, only on the condition that he was allowed to help out and sleep on the couch.

Wanda pulled Peter into a side hug and whispered, “Spaghetti bolognese for dinner, ok? Remember your cover story, don’t use your powers and try to be that quiet kid. No one will notice you then. Now, go and enjoy yourself!” Peter grinned, “Thanks, Wanda. Love you, bye!” He didn’t notice what he had said until he was inside the school gates, and he didn’t see the delighted smile that Wanda had on her face as she walked away.

Peter habitually assessed the surroundings, searching for possible escape routes and making mental notes of the people. It was so _loud_ and so _rowdy_ , unlike anything he had experienced before. It didn’t help that they kept bumping into him, which he was not comfortable with after HYDRA. Flinching after one boy crashed into him particularly hard, Peter stumbled back. The boy started frantically apologising, bending down to pick all the books up with Peter. He noticed a girl with dark, curly hair standing not too far away, a faintly amused look on her face. 

“Hey man, it’s fine, don’t worry,” Peter said after the boy kept rambling on. He blinked, smiled and held out his hand. “Ned Leeds. You’re new here, aren’t you?” Peter nodded, shaking the Filipino boy’s hand. “My name’s Peter Parker.” The girl who was watching came forward and gave Peter an appraising look, before holding out her hand and saying with a disinterested tone,

“Michelle Jones. You can call me MJ.” Peter smiled at this. Maybe school wouldn’t be too bad.  


* * *

It was lunchtime. Peter sat with Ned and MJ who both seemed like pretty nice people. Ned was blabbering on and on, putting Peter at ease, while MJ, on the other hand, merely read her novel and occasionally gave some input when Peter and Ned started discussing Star Wars. Peter enjoyed this new experience and decided that it was the right decision to come to this place. It was nice having friends.

They were midway through their conversation on how bad the prequels were, when Ned suddenly stopped talking, face turning dark. MJ put away her book and looked past the boys, her expression even more blank than usual. There was a cold ferocity to her face, one that could rival even Peter’s. Peter turned around, only to be met with what seemed to be the 'school bully’ and his gang. 

Peter had heard of high-school cliches before, but never really thought that this particular one would be present at this nerd school. The bully, who was obviously a jock, sneered at Peter, who merely stared back with mere indifference. He knew how to read people, and this guy was _weak_. He was just a petty bully, nothing else. 

“So!” The bully proclaimed. “You two idiots decided to recruit another one! What a surprise! So, who's the newbie?” MJ merely raised an eyebrow. Stony silence was the only response Flash got from her. His face faltered for a moment before his mask of bravado was pulled back up. He ignored MJ and looked towards Ned instead. It was like Peter didn't even exist.

“Come on, don't be shy, tell me about him. How else will we become _good_ friends?” He said with pure sarcasm dripping from his words. Ned spoke up bravely, “Piss off, Flash. It's like your parents didn't pay your way into the school.” Flash’s eyes flickered dangerously and Peter could see rage building. “Shut up, fatass. It's no wonder you have no friends. You're too fricking pathetic to amount to anything.” Peter could feel his own anger rising. It was one thing to pick on him. It was quite another to pick on the people he was starting to consider his friends.

_“Shut the hell up.”_

It was barely above a whisper, but Peter’s voice held so much venom in them that the word clearly cut through Flash’s tirade. Peter hadn’t stood up, but his glare had increased to such ferocious intensity that it felt that he was now looking down on Flash’s pale face. Peter narrowed his eyes.

_“Fuck off.”_

Flash’s gang immediately darted away and Flash hissed in Peter’s face, face still pale and filled with uncertain fear. “You’ll pay for this.” He sneered, trying to recover his dignity, scurrying after his gang. Peter dropped his expression and turned back to his friends as if nothing had happened. Ned stared back at him with an expression of awe and gratitude, while MJ offered a small, genuine smile (which was rare). “Thanks. You’re officially part of the loser group now.” Peter shook his head and smiled softly.

“That’s fine with me.”  


* * *

Peter chatted with his two friends, swerving around people as they walked through the corridor. He had enjoyed the last class of the day which was chemistry. Nothing was even remotely hard enough to challenge him, but he enjoyed partnering up with Ned. Besides, he was being productive and tweaking his web formula while the teacher wasn’t looking. Being an ex-spy/assassin, no one had noticed him.

Saying goodbye to Ned and MJ, Peter turned headed towards the gates, where he could see Wanda waiting. Eyes and hands glowing a faint red, he headed over to her, smirking. “Hey _Aunt May_ , how’s it going?” Wanda glared at him with mock anger and pointed her finger at the car. “Get in, young man. Learn to respect your elders!” Peter snorted and hopped in, Wanda sliding in moments later, giggling.

As soon as they reached the apartment, Peter leapt out of the car and rushed inside after saying a quick ‘bye’ to Wanda. Vision was off at an Avengers meeting while Wanda skipped out. Peter grabbed his suit and hurriedly pulled it on, slipping on his web-shooters as he did so. Wanda walked in as soon as he slipped on his mask. She smiled softly. “Be safe okay? Call me if there’s something really serious.” Peter gave her a thumbs up and a salute as he fell backwards out of the window. He heard a small “Don’t be out too late!” as he swung away.

Peter swung around Queens, helping out whenever he could. He managed to prevent no less than 3 attempted robberies, 4 attempted kidnappings and 2 attempted murders, broke up at least 2 gang fights and received at least 2 churros before swinging back. He had a giant smile on his face as he tumbled through the window, ecstatic over his victories. He reached up and pulled off his mask, sweating hair clinging to his forehead. He walked into the kitchen to see Wanda and Vision discussing something quite seriously.

Curious, he took a seat at the benchtop, patiently waiting for them to enlighten him on the news. When Wanda noticed him, she smiled and asked, “How was patrol?” He beamed and went on a spiel about everything before remembering what had happened. “Wait a second, what were you two talking about earlier?” Vision looked quite worried for an android when he said, “I couldn’t keep the Avengers away any longer without looking suspicious. They want to go after Spider-Man again. This time, they will use full force if necessary- they’re getting very worried.”

Peter felt a sinking feeling. “Do you guys have to join in?” Vision replied with, “I will have to, but they think Wanda is sick, so she won’t.” Wanda nodded. “I can keep out of the picture and mess with them a little so you can escape. But really, Peter, I don’t think we’ll be able to keep them off your back for much longer. They will start to get suspicious.” Peter nodded, resigned. 

They sat down to eat, silence ringing as they each lost themselves in their thoughts. As they cleaned up and Peter went to do his homework, Wanda and Vision resumed their muttering. Peter blocked everything out as he tried to concentrate on his AP Calculus questions. Tomorrow would be a long, stressful day and he needed to think of something to keep this precarious lifestyle he was living.

Because if it went wrong, he would have nowhere else to turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh so yeah I hope you enjoyed that. Thank you for all of the positive comments y'all have been leaving. It really means a LOT to me and they make my day, so thank you. I **really** don't know how to thank you people enough. Y'all so sweet :)))))
> 
> Bye lol.


	3. But you know what we did?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter is not Wanda’s biological brother, this happens when Homecoming should have happened and Wanda and Peter are 17 and 15 respectively.

_Stupid, stupid idiots._ Peter scowled as he trudged along the pavement. It was morning and he had opted to walk to school. Hoodie over his head and hands in pockets, he tried calming down by listening to music through a new gadget that Wanda had recently introduced to him. ‘Earphones’, they were called.

Those intrusive Avengers could never stay away for long. Head ducked down, he hurried into school, not looking where he was and ignoring his spidey sense. As he reached his locker, he bumped hard into a tall figure and fell down. When he looked up, he saw Flash and his cronies all standing side to side, smirking down at him. Peter internally scoffed, _What, is this now a cliched high school movie?_ He rolled his eyes at their ‘intimidating looks’ and tried darting past them. Of course, Flash flung out an arm to stop him.

Not wanting to get whacked in the ribs, he stopped short and threw a condescending look at the bully, who looked momentarily startled. He soon recovered though, saying,  
“Ah, if it isn’t the little _rat_. What have you been up to? Rummaging through dumpsters? I mean, I wouldn’t put it past you…” Flash continued on his deprecating rant as Peter desperately tried calming his nerves and reigning in the dormant HYDRA agent in him.

He was succeeding until Flash said,  
“...you’ll freeze in _winter_...” Suddenly, Peter felt his body grow rigid. _Shit_. Peter struggled to move, to just get away when Flash continued,  
“...it should be a _crime_ to be like this...” Peter collapsed to the floor, shaking with his hands over his ears. Panic started to build in him- if only one more trigger word was said, he’ll lose himself, and he couldn’t allow that to happen. Suddenly, Peter felt like he was back in HYDRA.

_Darkdarkdark room torturemetal screamingneedlestraining labcoats painangerfear hungersadnesshorrorkillingbloodmurder hewaslosingcontrol nononopainmorepainscreamshisscreams pleascrieshewasevilHYDRAwasevilnoplease…_

He couldn’t breathe, he was choking, suffocating as he was cornered against the lockers. The panic attack hit him with full force; Flash had stopped talking, fearful and unsure. He couldn’t see the school hallway; all he could see was his torture room and his torturer. Whimpering in fear, he looked around wildly, not registering the crowd starting to form. Someone touched his shoulder gently but that made it even worse and he flinched back, hard. 

He couldn’t hear the whispering, nor see the fearful looks and Ned and MJ worried looks.  
_hewasgoingtodietheywerealgoingtodieanditwasallhisfaulthecouldntdoanythingorhewouldbetorturedandkilledhehadnochoiceHYDRAwascomingnononononono_ …  
He was drowning, drowning in his memories, drowning in the terror that he had for so long suppressed.

But then, clarity. A gentle touch caressed his mind, another awareness. He subconsciously let it in, breathing slightly easier as he did so. The awareness hesitated a little, before diving in deeper and resurfacing with more memories. 

They were not bad ones. 

Memories of him and Wanda watching movies surface, as well as memories of Vision making dry, robotic comments as they did so. The calmness at night, peace after the horrible life he had been living. The new flavours he tasted almost every meal. He calmed down, breath still laboured.

Then, he heard the whispers and snapped his head up, eyes wide with panic. He immediately saw Wanda, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him. The last vestiges of red faded from her hands and he knew what had happened in an instant. The students were now frantically whisper-screaming, putting Peter on edge. Wanda glared at them, eyes flickering red, and they all dispersed. Peter could see Flash amongst them, face pale with fear.

Wanda sighed before turning back to Peter, who leaned against the cold metal of the lockers. She stood up and held out a hand.  
“No one knows, it’s fine. I’ve already signed you out. Let’s get you home.”  
Peter nodded and smirked tiredly.  
“Ok, Aunt May.”  
Wanda snorted.  
“Even after that, you still have an attitude. Come on then, nephew.”  
The two laughed a little as they exited the school.  


* * *

Peter cradled the cup of hot, warm tea as he sat on the couch. Wanda sat next to him, urgently talking on the phone to Vision. Peter took a few sips and shuddered slightly. Abruptly, he stood up and tapped Wanda on the shoulder.  
“I think… I’m going to go out on patrol early… I need to clear my head.”  
Wanda looked worriedly at him and muted the call.  
“Be careful. Vision isn’t sure when they’ll go after you, only that it’ll be soon. At any sign of them, hide and call me. Understood?”

Peter nodded and smiled softly.  
“Of course, сестра(sister).”  
He suited up and cautiously exited the apartment, sticking to the shadows as he did so. He swung out into the open once he was a decent distance away.

For half an hour he stopped crime, feeling a rush of relief and pride as he did so. However, it was too good to last. As he alighted on top of a skyscraper, his senses flared and picked up the sound of nearing repulsors.  
_Fuck._  
Whipping out his phone, he called Wanda as he tried finding a place to hide. She answered immediately.  
“They’re here, Wanda. I’m near the Queensboro bridge, come as soon as you can. But, stick to the shadows, ok?”  
She tried arguing, but he protested.  
“You are _not_ allowed to ruin your life for me.”  
He promptly hung up.

He sighed deeply and swung faster, trying to buy time. He could hear the rush of Falcon’s wings, the distinct sound of War Machine and Iron Man’s repulsors and the whirring of the helicopter which was most probably carrying the rest of his pursuers. He could sense Vision among them, somewhere, and felt a slight reassurance. Vision would not harm him, he was sure of that.

The had nearly closed in on him when he felt a strange presence in his mind. He faltered a little and was forced to land on an apartment block.  
_“Peter.”_  
It was Wanda.  
_“I’ve established a mind link. This way, we can still communicate.”_  
Despite the situation, Peter found this extremely exciting.  
_“Woah, you can do that? That’s so cool!”_  
He totally ignored Avengers’ futile attempts at communicating with him.

 _“I know. So, we need a plan. I’ll try to mess with their heads and make them go another direction, but that could be hard as they’re already better at discerning illusion and reality.”_  
Peter listened intently, ignoring the fact that the Avengers were getting angrier.  
_“That’s good enough. I’ll find a good alley to hide in, ok?”_  
He could sense her unease at the plan, as well as the resignment that this was probably the best they could do.  
_“Seems good. I’m getting closer.”_

Peter narrowed his eyes.  
_“Do NOT interfere, you hear me? If they catch me, you do NOTHING. You’ve done enough for me anyway.”_  
Wanda sighed defeatedly and replied,  
_“I don’t like it, but I’ll do my best.”_  
Peter was about to argue, but his senses warned him of an incoming object and he focused on that instead.

In his hand, he held an arrow. Sighing he faced the Avengers head-on.  
“Haven’t you already realised that that doesn’t work on me?” He stopped for a second. Bucky, Rhodey and Bruce (in the helicopter) were also there. _Damn, they want to capture me this badly?_  
“Spider-Man, we’ve done this once before. Now we’re asking you again to come with us. Fury’s already up our asses as it is and we don’t want another scolding. So just come already.” Tony tried explaining. 

Peter heard a small ‘Language’ from Steve and burst out laughing.  
“So, you decided you wanted to catch a spider…” he mocked and laughed harder as he launched himself off the side of the building, thinking about the PSA’s. He looked back and saw the Avengers groaning and chasing after him, with Steve still standing there with a confused look on his face.

 _Oh dammit, Wanda. He probably knows I’m school-age now._  
She sighed exasperatedly in his mind.  
_Well, there’s nothing you can do now! Just get your ass out of there!_  
Peter grinned at this.  
_Language._  
He felt a stab of annoyance from Wanda.  
_Steve._ She growled.

Peter would have happily kept teasing her, but he was a bit preoccupied. Not entirely concentrating on his surroundings and relying on his spidey sense to avoid crashing, he realised that the Avengers had chased him into an inescapable position. ‘What good is an ex-HYDRA agent if they can’t even evade HYDRA’s worst enemies?’ He thought furiously as he turned and readied himself for an unfair fight.

Iron Man and War Machine arrived first, shooting blasts of energy from their ‘weird glowy circle things’ while Hawkeye shot his arrows at him and Falcon shot tranquillizing darts as well. Vision also shot his yellow energy blasts, though purposely missing each time. The ones on foot arrived slightly later, fully equipped with tasers and darts. 

_They really went overboard, didn’t they?_ Peter thought drily as he backflipped and dodged to avoid the objects that would be his downfall. Soon, Natasha and Bucky decided that long-range combat was too ineffective and ran forward to battle him. As they engaged in hand to hand combat, darts, bullets and blasts falling around them, Peter subconsciously thought about how chaotic this was.

 _Quite beautiful,_ he thought detachedly, _chaos is kinda like art, I guess. Messy, but can still have an underlying meaning… what’s the underlying meaning of this fight?_  
Wanda blazed in his mind.  
_Stop getting distracted! Also, I told you to get out of there!_  
Peter apologized.  
_Sorry, I got sidetracked._

Natasha and Bucky didn’t pose much of a challenge to him. He recognized some elements of their fighting style which he had been taught in HYDRA. However, it was getting increasingly difficult to hold his ground, with all the noise and chaos around him.  
_Is noise beautiful, or merely a nuisance?_

Then he made a mistake.

A tiny mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. A dart grazed his arm, injecting some of its sleeping substance in him. _Crap._ He needed to get out of there, quick. He urgently contacted Wanda.  
_Hey, so, I may be caught soon. These darts won't knock me out but they'll probably slow me down, so…_  
He felt the disbelief and the worry.  
_YOU STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. I’M NEARLY THERE._  
Peter tried protesting.  
_Sorry, Peter. I’m not letting another one of my brothers die._

* * *

**Wanda’s POV**

She knew something was going to go wrong, just as soon as Peter left. The poor boy, she should have known that a panic attack would happen one day at school. When she got that call from the school about her ‘nephew’ having a panic attack and not being able to calm down, she had left immediately. Worried sick, it had taken her multiple tries to get inside his head to calm him down. Not to mention the simultaneous mind manipulation of all the kids watching as well.

And now, he had gone on patrol. And her dumb self had let him. Anxiously, she kept checking her phone and pacing, worried that something would happen. She couldn’t track him even if she wanted to. She couldn’t get inside his mind with his guard up anymore. And so, she nervously waited for the phone call that she desperately hoped wouldn’t happen.

But when did anything ever go completely right?

A little after thirty minutes after he left, she got the phone call. His voice was quiet and urgent.  
“They’re here, Wanda. I’m near the Queensboro bridge, come as soon as you can. But, stick to the shadows, ok?”  
How the hell was she supposed to help if she couldn’t be out in the open? She tried arguing but he interrupted.  
“You are _not_ allowed to ruin your life for me.”  
He promptly hung up.

 _That idiot!_ Wanda thought as she threw on a dark outfit and dashed out the door. Using her magic, she sped through the shadows of the city, navigating her way to Queensboro bridge. She paused and breathed, an idea coming to her. Concentrating immensely, she searched through the city until she found the mind she was looking for. Latching onto that awareness, she fabricated a mind link between the two of them.

Relieved that he had let her in, she tested the mind link out.  
_“Peter,"_ she thought.  
_“I’ve established a mind link. This way, we can still communicate.”_  
She could feel his excitement.  
_“Woah, you can do that? That’s so cool!”_  
She grinned at this.

 _“I know. So, we need a plan. I’ll try to mess with their heads and make them go another direction, but that could be hard as they’re already better at discerning illusion and reality.”_  
She could feel Peter’s hesitation at this.  
_“That’s good enough. I’ll find a good alley to hide in, ok?”_  
Wanda really didn’t like it. But what more could she do?  
_“Seems good. I’m getting closer.”_

Wanda felt a sudden spike of determination and worry from the teen.  
_“Do NOT interfere, you hear me? If they catch me, you do NOTHING. You’ve done enough for me anyway.”_  
Wanda sighed, regretfully contemplating the noble, yet stupid, self-sacrificing attitude of her brothers.  
_“I don’t like it, but I’ll do my best.”_  
She could sense Peter about to reply, but suddenly his mind focused elsewhere and she couldn’t break through again.

She immediately set off again, going faster than before. Now and then, she caught brilliant flashes of emotions and sometimes images, coupled with the occasional fragmented thought. She had paused again when Peter sheepishly informed her that Steve probably knew his approximate age. This only fueled her worry as she sped to his location.

When she nearly got there, she picked up a worrying thought. _They’re all there,_ she realized. She didn’t want to think of all the things the other Avengers could do to him. Flashes of chaos interrupted her concentration and she had to reprimand Peter for getting sidetracked. Seriously, that kid could have philosophical discussions in his head anywhere. 

She was almost there, ready to help when the worst-case scenario came into play.  
_Hey, so, I may be caught soon. These darts won't knock me out but they'll probably slow me down, so…_  
Peter’s tired voice slurred in her mind. Jolts of worry, shock and anger ran through her, not coming from Peter. She clenched her jaw.  
_YOU STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. I’M NEARLY THERE._  
She could feel Peter about to argue, but Wanda cut in. Slightly regretfully but still determined, she apologized.  
_Sorry, Peter. I’m not letting another one of my brothers die._

Pinpointing his location, Wanda sprinted over, abandoning all pretences of invisibility. When she burst into the alley, she was greeted with the sight of a barely conscious Peter laying on the ground, the Avengers starting to crowd around. Steve was about to pick him up when Wanda felt a great rage flow through her.

NO ONE attacked her brother and got away with it.

Her power built up and before she could even think about stopping herself, her rage spilled out in a large display of red energy, throwing all the Avengers away from Peter and simultaneously creating a protective shield around him. She flew up and landed in front of the bubble-shield, snarling at the Avengers who looked at her with apprehension.  
“Please,” she ground out, “don’t take my brother away from me.” The Avengers looked quite suitably shocked at this proclamation. Natasha, the ever level-headed one, was the first to speak.  
“I’m guessing you don’t mean blood brother.” 

Calmed slightly by Natasha’s neutral tone, Wanda extinguished her power, still maintaining a protective stance over Peter. She took a deep breath.  
“No, he’s not my blood brother, but he’s as good as one.” The other Avengers started discussing this, Natasha looking oddly satisfied. Wanda ignored all of them.  
“So, I have a proposal for all of you.” She began, silencing them effectively.  
“You leave my brother alone and I stay on the Avengers, or we both disappear forever.” 

Wanda almost smirked at the shocked expressions on their faces (well, except for Natasha. When did that woman _ever_ get surprised?). Keyword, _almost_. Steve was about to protest, no doubt very loudly when a tired croak was heard behind her.  
“Hey, Wanda… What did I say about interfering?”  
She whirled around, inordinately relieved that he was ok.  
“They were about to take you…”  
“I told you to let them if it came to that!”

He was now sitting upright, using the wall as support. The two glared at each other until they heard a cough.  
“So… you’ve known this… vigilante… whom we’ve been trying to catch, and you didn’t tell us?” Tony was absolutely outraged.  
“Don’t blame her.” Peter cut in. Wanda could sense the angry aura surrounding the injured vigilante.

Struggling to his feet, he moved toward the Avengers, side-stepping Wanda.  
“I will come with you, only if you allow Wanda and I to live as we have previously, with no repercussions. I will trust you with my identity, but I will choose whether to go with you on missions. Also, I get to keep being Spider-Man. Deal?”  
Tony looked hesitant, but Steve looked relieved, perhaps happy that the chase could stop.

“Deal, Spider-Man.”

“Good.” Wanda _really_ didn’t like this course of action, but she knew Peter wasn’t going to allow her life to be ‘ruined’ by him. Sighing regretfully, she followed the Avengers to the helicopter, beckoning to Peter. Once everyone was inside, the situation was rather awkward. The only one who remained unperturbed was Natasha. Of course.

She approached her fellow arachnid, holding out her hand. He took it cautiously, glancing up at her through the suit’s white lenses.  
“So, what’s your real name?”  
Wanda saw Peter hesitate, then slowly removed his mask. Breathing deeply, he raised his head to face Natasha. She didn’t betray her true emotions, though she was no doubt shocked at his age.

“Hi, I’m Peter Parker.”

“Hi, Peter Parker, I’m Natasha Romanoff.”

He nodded respectfully. Throughout the ride, the other Avengers became curious and started approaching the reserved arachnid. Wanda didn’t leave his side, gently calming his mind with her magic. She saw Peter’s walls start to crumble the longer they talked, and by the time the team got back to the Tower, Peter’s defences had _slightly_ lessened and he was talking to Natasha about fighting techniques.

Wanda re-established the mind link.  
_How is it so far?_  
Peter’s reply was more or less content.  
_They’re actually… not that bad. I think I could learn to put up with them._  
Sweet relief flowed through Wanda at this.

_I’m proud of you, brother._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have a ton of assignments and homework, so this update took longer… I’m really sorry.
> 
> I also think this chapter is really disjointed and has numerous mistakes. Please notify me if there are any. Sorry if this seems really rushed and doesn’t make sense. I might come back to edit when I have time.
> 
> I’ll try to update faster next time.
> 
> Until then, my friends.


	4. We were careless and abused it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place three weeks after the previous chapter.

**Peter’s POV**

Interacting with the Avengers on a daily basis was… interesting, to say the least. Peter thought that their days would be filled with more battle-planning, strategizing and serious stuff. In reality, however, they spent most of their days rather… domestically. It was a relief to know that these superheroes were actually pretty normal. Training was a regular thing, but the Avengers managed to turn it into a game, while still being able to improve. Peter was very impressed.

He had met Nick Fury and had spoken to him after arriving at the Tower. Fury had struck a deal with him, saying that he would not go into the SHIELD database, as long as he remained on the ‘good’ side (whatever that was) and went to the Tower every day. At the slightest inkling of ‘evil’, he would be immediately detained and examined for any change. Peter had wanted to argue but evidently this was already a very good deal with Fury, according to Wanda. He had no choice but to accept.

He still didn’t fully trust most of the Avengers though, choosing to stay in Wanda’s apartment since it was also more convenient when it came to going to school. When he had gone to school the next day after the panic attack, no one had remembered anything, courtesy of Wanda. For that, he was relieved. He managed to calm down easily now, with help from Natasha and Bucky, who he was closest with apart from Wanda and Vision. Clint called them the ‘HYDRA buddies’. 

Right now, however, Peter was in his chem class, daydreaming while the teacher explained a random theory that he already knew. He half-consciously listened for the shrill ring that would signal the end of the day. Happy would be there to pick him up, then he would be off to the Tower. He was particularly excited because today Natasha and Bucky had agreed to teach him more combat skills so he could fight better. He was particularly looking forward to honing his long-range combat, which had gotten sloppier since his escape.

Finally, the harsh ringing reverberated throughout the hallways of the school and Peter sprinted out with all the other kids, ignoring the teacher’s cries of, “I dismiss you, not the bell!” No one particularly cared. It was, after all, Friday afternoon, and everybody wanted to go home. Feet skidding on the steps, Peter ran as quickly as possible to Happy’s car, deftly avoiding shouts of ‘Puny Parker!’. 

He slid into the back seat of the car, greeting Happy politely. Silently, he watched the New York landscape sweep by as he neared the Tower. Once the tower came into view, gleaming in the sunlight, Peter grabbed his bag and pass, saying ‘bye’ as he did so. He silently passed through the foyer. His feet automatically took him to the private elevator, where he was taken up to the common room.

When he stepped out, his spidey sense buzzed and he caught a blunted arrow. He threw an accusatory look at Clint (who is the vents again).  
“You never give up, do you?”  
“Nope! One day, I will get you, just you wait!” Clint grinned back at Peter. Out of all the Avengers, he was certainly the most laid back. Peter allowed a small smile.  
“Good luck with that.”

He moved into the common room, dropping his bag next to a couch. Not wanting to talk to anyone else, he immediately headed to the training room, where he found Natasha and Bucky already sparring. Natasha looked at Peter as he entered.  
“маленький паук (little spider),” she greeted him just as she flipped Bucky on his back.  
“мама паук (mama spider),” Peter nodded back. 

Bucky smiled up from his position on the floor.  
“Are you ready, Peter?” Peter nodded eagerly. Natasha briskly walked over.  
“Twenty laps warm-up, now go.” He nodded and immediately took off. He pounded steadily around the perimeter of the room, regulating his breathing and barely breaking a sweat.

By the end, he wasn’t even panting. Natasha gave him an appraising look.  
“Wanna spar?” He perked up at once. He loved sparring.  
“Absolutely.”  
“Good. Knives allowed.”

The two went onto the mats and faced each other, already in their stance. Peter decided to take the offensive first and sprang at Natasha who dodged (duh). The two sparred, reading each other's moves and darting around the mats in what could have been mistaken as a choreographed dance. Finally, Peter had a knife to Natasha’s throat, while she held her own dagger to the back of his neck. Clapping, Bucky called out the time.

“That took 27 minutes, 32 seconds! A bit better than last time.” The spiders sheathed their knives and went to cool down. As Peter walked towards the door, Wanda came in. Beaming, she rushed over.  
“I convinced Tony to allow you to work in the lab!”  
Peter was stunned.  
“How though?”  
“I have my methods.” 

He gave her a smile.  
“I’m just not gonna question it .”  
“Good idea.”  
“Is it ok if I come by after training?”  
“Yeah sure, I’ll go tell Tony.”  
“Thanks! I’ve got a few ideas for my suit.”  
“You’re welcome. Cya Peter.”  
“Bye Wanda.”

Peter headed back to Natasha and Bucky, who were throwing knives at each other. He smiled.

Time to train.  


* * *

Peter was feeling very satisfied after an hour’s worth of training. As he exited the shower, he was met by a slightly frazzled Tony Stark. Without much preamble, Tony started talking.

“Wanda says you’re rather smart… I’m hoping you’d be able to solve this equation.” And without saying anything else, he turned and hurried back to the lab. Peter stared after the man, brow slightly furrowed in confusion. FRIDAY, being the smart, omniscient AI she was, quietly informed him.  
“Boss hasn’t slept in three days. He’s been living off coffee.”

Peter shook his head and walked after the billionaire. When he entered the lab, Tony was contemplating at a whiteboard with a vastly complicated equation on there. Messy working out was scribbled around it and it had clearly been re-done a few times. Peter silently walked up to stand beside the man, already trying to figure out what was wrong. He stood, motionless, for about a minute, until he finally figured out what he had to do.

Picking up a piece of paper and pencil, he copied down the equation and sat down, instantly starting to solve it. Seven minutes and forty-two seconds later, he threw down the pencil with triumph and handed the paper to Tony. The tired man’s eyes practically flew open when he took in the scribbles.  
“Kid, you’re a lifesaver.”  
He paused.  
“Thank you.”

Peter smiled wryly.  
“The great Tony Stark says ‘thank you’? What a surprise.”  
Tony scoffed.  
“Don’t expect it that often. But I’m actually serious here. Thank you.”  
Peter gave a genuine smile this time.  
“It’s no problem, Mr Stark. But, I do think it’s time for you to sleep now. Not sleeping is very bad for you.”  
Tony groaned.  
“Not another one.”  


* * *

The next day, after his afternoon patrol, Peter dropped into the Tower, where Tony was waiting already. He looked much more relaxed and alert after a night’s rest.  
“FRIDAY alerted me. So, do you want to work in the lab today?”  
Peter nodded vigorously, a giant grin about to explode onto his face.  
“Sure!”

Tony nodded and struck up a light conversation as they headed to the lab. Soon enough, they were engaged in a huge debate about the quantum realm and what was in it.  
“But that wouldn’t work! You’d need an unbelievable amount of energy!”  
“Yeah I know, but _hypothetically_ …”  
“You know what, just ask Lang and Pym. They’d know.”  
“True.”

When they entered, Peter caught sight of a cleared up workspace, clearly meant for him. He glanced at Tony, who merely nodded.  
“Go ahead, kid.”  
As if he had been released from a chain, he rushed over and immediately brought up a hologram. Instantly, he started designing the blueprints for his new suit, simultaneously calculating maths equations and coding. It was practically free rein with the best quality tech you could get, and Peter was digging it.  


* * *

Peter spent many hours in the lab, carefully designing and coding various aspects of his new suit. If he continues working hard, he calculated that it would take perhaps thirteen more hours to completely finish the whole thing. Sweaty but satisfied, he spun in his rolling chair and gulped down his third cup of coffee. Like the intellectual he was, he planned to spend the rest of the night in the lab.

He didn’t consider the fact that he didn't stay at the Tower overnight, which was an oversight on his part.

* * *

**Wanda’s POV**

Wanda walked into the lab at six o’clock to see Peter and Tony both lost in their own projects, both looking like they had just come in from a storm. She took one long look at Peter’s ragged appearance (he still hadn’t changed out of his suit. He said it was ‘comfortable’), marched over, put her hands on her hips and gave him the ‘disapproving mum/older sister face’.

“Peter.”  
“Wanda.”  
“Don’t you want to go home?”  
“Nah, not yet. I’m working on my new suit!”

Wanda blinked and gave him a long, hard stare. It was only this morning that he was complaining about having to go all the way to Manhattan every day. 

“Tony.”  
The tired billionaire looked up at Wanda.  
“Whaddya need.”  
“Have you brainwashed my brother?”  
He smirked at this.  
“Of course not. He’s doing this all by his free will.”  
Wanda looked at him skeptically.  
Tony’s smile faded and he once again looked exhausted.  
“Let the kid do his thing, Wanda. I think this was the first time he actually smiled. He needs this. If it comes to it, I don’t mind him staying overnight.”

Wanda glanced back at her brother, and took in his appearance. His eyes were narrowed in thought, shining with creativity and light. It was the possibly the happiest and the most lively she had seen him, and she had seen him when he was swinging around as Spider-Man. Relenting, Wanda nodded and looked at Tony sharply.

“If he ever stays the night here, you will not let him stay up as ridiculously late as you do. Try and set a good example for him, okay?”  
Tony genuinely smiled at this.  
“Of course.”

Wanda nodded and walked to her brother.  
“Hey, sis.”  
“Hey Peter. Do you wanna stay the night here?”  
Peter looked at her, momentarily thrown off guard.  
“What?”  
“If you stay, you could work more on your suit. I don’t mind. And, it is a Saturday night.”  
He hesitated.  
“Won’t I be a burden though?”  
“Of course not! There are plenty of spare rooms in the living quarters, so it’s fine.”

She saw every last bit of reservation leave his face and he beamed at her. He actually _beamed_ at her. 

“That’ll be great, thanks!”  
“Don’t thank me, Peter. Thank Tony.”

* * *

**Peter’s POV**

He didn’t know how it happened, but suddenly his world was wrenched one way again and he was _actually staying at the Tower which happened to be the most technologically advanced place in the world_ (apart from Wakanda) _oh my god what._

Being the secretly giant nerd he was, he already started planning all the things he could build. He could even build an actual R2D2 if he wanted! This was great! Also, Tony was actually a lot better than how he presented himself to the public. Peter was startled to see a more empathic, thoughtful side to the billionaire.

He worked in the lab until eight, when Tony decided to take a break and have dinner. They ordered pizza and pigged out, arguing about more scientific concepts. It was rather fun and it gave Peter an indescribable feeling of joy, talking with someone who was interested in the same things as he.

That happy feeling remained when he went out on his night patrol, swinging around the city, feeling unusual amounts of gratitude and joy. He alighted on top of a nearby skyscraper, for once stopping to appreciate the night view of the city. He closed his eyes and _breathed_ , feeling the wind whip around him, hearing the cars go by below, almost drunk on the sweetness of freedom. 

It was this unusual state of mind that was his downfall. He ignored his spidey sense when it hummed and only had time to regret all his life decisions when the dart embedded itself into his skin and knocked him out(which really shouldn't be possible but it happened so...).

Darkness was a blanket that kept him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shat this is short sry y’all. It’s mostly a filler for the next chapter, which would probably be the last one in this work.  
> Also, sorry for the longer wait than usual… school is crazy with everything that's happening but since nearly everything is cancelled (EXCEPT SCHOOL!!!!!) I’ll be able to update sooner (hopefully).
> 
> I apologise a lot.
> 
> Sorry.


	5. So we paid the price

**Peter’s POV**

Peter gazed up at the ceiling of the cell he had woken up in. Rough rock grazed his exposed skin, silence ringing in the air, occasionally punctuated by the distant sound of footsteps or harsh yelling. His whole body ached and the cold of the cell chilled him until he could barely move. 

Blame the lack of thermoregulation that came with the whole spider package.

He really should’ve seen it coming. When was his luck ever on his side? First his parents’ deaths, his capture, his torture, his attempted brainwashings, his encounters with death, his illegal vigilantism (when he was _trying_ to do the right thing) and his more unfortunate meetings with the Avengers. 

But this really was the icing on the cake.

Imagine being captured by the very people that he had planned for so long to escape from. Those people had broken him, beat him and _used_ him. He was insanely lucky that he had the Avengers to help him back together, but once something is broken once, it is very hard to piece it back together again a second time.

Despair filled his being, lead dragging him down. Shivering, he curled up in the corner, trying to preserve some warmth. Faint footsteps echoed down a distant corridor, slowly getting louder as they approached his cell. Peter raised his head weakly as the door was flung over. Wincing at the loud noise, he saw a familiar figure block the light.

“Привет, паук. Рад снова меня видеть?”  
(Hello, spider. Happy to see me again?”)  


* * *

Peter screamed again, throat hoarse and dry. His long-time torturer smiled at him viciously, yanking another knife down from the wall. It’s clean blade gleamed, soon to be slathered in his blood. Peter drew in ragged breaths, wounds slashed across his skin. 

The agent glared down at Peter’s helpless form, gently caressing the blade.  
“Would you like some more?”  
He sneered in his thick accent, mocking Peter, who frantically shook his head.  
“Please, no…”  
“But you don’t really get a choice, do you?”

His knuckles whitened as he prepared to plunge the knife in once more.  
Peter tensed, waiting for the inevitable searing pain that was to come.  
“VLAD!”  
A woman’s voice tore through the air.  
“Не трать свое время на предателя! Положить его обратно. Нам нужно кое-что обсудить.””  
(Do not waste time on the traitor! Put it back. We have things to discuss.)

The tension lessened in his body as Peter let out a shaky breath. Glaring, Vlad roughly unclasped Peter and forcefully dragged him back to the cell. He threw Peter bodily into the room, smirking and giving a two-fingered salute as he left. Peter used his remaining strength to drag himself back to the corner and huddled against it, raising his tear-stained face to the ceiling.

He was back… and there was absolutely nothing he could do.

* * *

**Wanda’s POV**

Wanda paced back and forth, running her hand through her hair, breath coming in short, panicked gasps. _No, no, no, this was never supposed to happen again, please no, not another one…_  
Vision rested a hand on her shoulder, grounding her slightly. Natasha sat nearby, watching Wanda with a worried look.

The Avengers were scattered around the common room, some urgently talking, others sitting in absolute silence. Clint sat with Natasha, somewhat grieving as he had kids of his own and couldn’t bear the thought of the young vigilante being tortured. Bucky stood solitarily in a corner, a murderous look on his face as he planned the violent dismemberment of the people who had hurt one of the few people who fully understood and accepted him.

Steve, Sam and Rhodey sat in a circle, whispering gravely, discussing tactics and theorizing. Bruce was rapidly scrolling though a StarkPad, checking everything he could while Tony had disappeared to his lab, holograms all around him as he uttered an almost non-stop flow of instructions to FRIDAY.

It was killing her, all this indecisiveness and lack of action.  
What killed her more, however, was the knowledge that HYDRA had taken her brother back and were undoubtedly committing unspeakable horrors as they waited.

_Waiting, waiting, waiting…_

“I FOUND HIM!”

Tony burst into the common room, frantic and dishevelled. He brought up a hologram from his watch and zoomed in on a mountainside which looked pretty bleak. Hands flicking slightly, he changed the hologram to reveal a hidden HYDRA base buried deep in the mountainside, entrance concealed by the dense forest below.

Many heat signatures were shown to be deep inside the mountain, the base reaching as far as halfway inside. A fainting pulsing light, a shade lighter than all the rest, was shown about three-quarters in, in the corner of the small room.  
“That’s where his tracker is.”  
Wanda looked at Tony, immensely relieved, yet surprised.

“Wouldn’t they have found the tracker though?”  
Tony shook his head, appearing almost offended.  
“It’s Stark tech, invisible and nearly impossible to remove unless you have the code. I put the tracker on Peter when he was designing the suit.”  
Wanda frowned slightly.  
“Usually, you would be seeing your worst nightmare plus more by now, but since we know where my brother is because of it, I’ll let it pass.”

Tony, relieved, tapped his watch twice, the hologram vanishing and his body already being covered in his Iron Man suit, courtesy of nanotech.  
“Chop chop children, we’ve got a teenager to save.”  


* * *

The Quinjet hurtled silently through the sky, reflective panels concealing its passage. Everyone sat inside silently, anxiously waiting until their arrival at the HYDRA base. Wanda stared at her fingers, fighting back the energy threatening to burst from them. No one talked, no one moved, no one made a sound.

FRIDAY’s voice finally sounded through the speakers.  
“You will be arriving at your destination in 5 minutes. Please get ready.”  
The Avengers immediately stood up and adjusted their uniforms, tucking more weapons away if they could. Wanda rolled a ball of scarlet energy around her fingers.

The Quinjet landed in a secluded clearing, the Avengers immediately spilling out after revising the plan once more. Inaudibly, Clint and Natasha sped ahead, feet light as the spies scoured their surroundings for any hidden HYDRA agents. Clint hissed into his comm.  
“All clear.”

Bucky, Steve, Wanda and Vision also set off, weaving through the dense woodland. Tony, Rhodey and Sam would join once they successfully infiltrated the base, their suits deemed too noisy for this stage of the mission. Drones followed the four as they joined the two spies, commanded by Bruce. As they neared the hidden entrance, they drew their weapons. The guarding agents stood at attention, tense and alert.

Natasha fired first, a bullet clean through the head of one. The others followed suit, simultaneously opening fire. Agents spilled out of the entrance, more ammunition being sprayed on the heroes from concealed openings far above. Wanda stormed forward, a dome appearing around the heroes. She led them in, the shield-dome knocking agents away as they tried to penetrate it.  
“We’re in,” Natasha whispered, a revolver clutched in her hand as she stepped lightly through the entrance. Wanda extinguished her dome, letting Steve take the lead. 

They turned a corner, lights flickering in the dark corridor. Shouts echoed through the space, angry voices arguing. A more assertive voice yelled over the rest and they immediately fell silent. Not a second later, loud alarms blared through the base, lights turning on to bathe the Avengers in bright light. Cursing, Natasha sprinted ahead, beckoning the rest of the group to follow her. 

As they neared an empty room which they could hide in if necessary, the sound of repulsors and the mechanical whirring of robotic wings were faintly heard following a deafening series of explosions. Tony, Rhodey and Sam rushed towards the group, barrelling through the hallways.  
“FRIDAY says that she detects many, many more heat signatures ahead. Get ready to fight, people,” Tony warned.

They all nodded, determined. Tony locked eyes with Wanda and pointed down another hallway.  
“Go down there, turn two lefts, skip a turn, turn right, turn left, keep going straight and you’ll find Peter in a small cell at the end off to the right.”  
Wanda nodded again, a fierce look coming over her face. Red energy flickered all around her, lighting her eyes up red.

Steve smirked a little at everyone, a strained look still on his face.  
“Avengers…

...Assemble.”  


* * *

Wanda set off solo, the rest going in groups of two. Natasha and Clint headed for the control room where all the data would be kept. Tony and Rhodey went right, Steve and Bucky went left while Sam and Vision, though an odd pairing, worked rather well together and headed straight. Bruce’s drones followed, assisting in ‘taking care’ of the more resistant agents.

Wanda easily flung the resisting agents away from her and into the wall, her power easily keeping bullets and such away. A trail of bodies followed her as she murderously stalked towards the people who had harmed her brother. The team occasionally instructed each other through the comms, slowly but steadily taking down the base. Wanda ignored everything, immensely focused on her goal.

Something brushed against her foot and latched onto her leg, biting into her skin. With a gasp, her power suddenly vanished, as if it had never existed. The scarlet faded into nothing, like smoke curling up from flame and simply… disappearing. She snarled and whipped around, coming face to face with two figures, both quite tall and quite obviously trained.

She studied them, taking in their attire and how they stood. One was clearly rigorously trained, probably an assassin or a guard. The other was shorter and less built, though he looked rather fast. He was also wearing… a lab coat? Were scientists also trained here? She was taken from her thoughts by a thrown knife that just missed her ear.

Irritated, she leapt at them, recalling countless drills and training sessions from Natasha. Without her powers, they thought she was helpless. _Well,_ she smirked, _they’re in for a shock._ The scientist swung at her. On instinct, she ducked darted under the arm, coming up behind the man.  
“Over here,” she hissed into her ear, grabbing his arm and flipping him onto the floor. She turned towards the assassin who was already swinging at her. 

She dodged and blocked another attack from the scientist who had just got up from the floor. _Stupid,_ she cursed internally. Now she had to deal with both of them. Resigned, she waited for them to attack.  
_Come on boys, don’t be scared._ As if on cue, the assassin aimed a series of punches and kicks her way. She deftly avoided those, ducking behind him to attack the scientist, who was definitely less skilled than his partner.

A few choice moves later and he was under control,incapacitated from the force of her blows. Satisfied, she whipped around to focus on the assassin, only to immediately be restrained and thrown to the ground. He stared down at her, expression filled with savage glee, a gleaming knife now held in his hand.  
“Ты сам напросился на это, предатель!”  
(You asked for this, traitor!)

Wanda merely smiled up at him, hand casually drifting to her ankle. Finally, her fingers found what they were looking for and grabbed the smooth metal of the device. Gritting her teeth, she tore it away from her, screaming as she did so. Pain shot up her leg, the sudden scream shocking the scientist away. The pain suddenly dissipated, replaced instead by the familiar, reassuring, steady hum of her powers. 

She sat up from her place on the floor, her ankle bleeding slightly. She smirked at the scientist, eyes glowing red once again. She moved her hands and directed the full force of her energy at him, pinning him against the wall. As he struggled, she flew up towards him, the knife now in her possession. 

A heartbreaking memory came to her as she held the knife to his throat, power flowing freely like a river around them. Tears filled her eyes, a twisted smile on her face as she whispered into his ear.

“You didn’t see that coming?”

* * *

**Peter’s POV**

Peter lay in his cell, cold concrete against his back. Bruises littered his skin, blood tracing rivulets of red in sharp contrast to his deathly pale skin. Dull ringing filled his ears as he remained just under the grasp of consciousness. Vaguely, he heard footsteps in the hallway about a hundred metres away. They stopped abruptly and seemed to be intercepted.

 _Interesting…_ Peter thought dazedly, the pain of his injuries as insignificant as the wind, now. Hw dozed off, his body trying to heal himself. For the second time that- was it day, or week?- the door slammed open, a familiar figure in the doorway. Tilting his head slightly, he blearily took in the image of a girl. He… recognised her though. What was her name again? Wanda? 

Ah yes, Wanda, his pseudo-sister. He closed his eyes, relief flowing through him as he succumbed to the lull of darkness. Faintly, the sounds of frantic whispering and intermingled sobbing brushed past his ears before he lost all consciousness.  


* * *

Dark.

That was the only thing he was aware of.

Comforting, solid darkness.

He wanted to rest in its embrace forever, wanted to stay in the neverending blackness forever.

Nothing hurt and nothing happened… he wasn’t even sure if he had a body. He just… was.

It was peaceful, something he had rarely had the chance to experience when he was in the light.  
No one demanded anything of him here, no one expected him to do anything for them here and he didn’t need to be someone he wasn’t.

It was bliss.

But alas, life never let him have his peace for long.

A grey area ahead appeared, slowly brightening in a bright white light. Squinting, (he could squint?) he could faintly make out the silhouettes of a few figures in front of him, beckoning him forward. Suddenly afraid, he took a step back (when did he get a body?) and attempted to shield himself.

A familiar voice echoed in the fading darkness, the traitorous light seeping in.  
“Peter! Wake up kid! Please, don’t die on us.”  
It sounded familiar.  
“I can’t lose my brother again.”  
The voice broke and Peter’s eyes fully opened.

It was Wanda. Oh, god, Wanda. He tried sprinting to the light, shielding his eyes as he barrelled through to the other side. He fought against the magnetic pull that the darkness seemed to have over him, trying to get back to his newfound family.

 _“Come on, Peter,”_ he thought to himself, straining and pushing until finally, _finally_ he fell into the other side. He seemed to be lying on something, something soft. There was a light weight on him and frantic muttering wherever he was. He struggled to open his eyes. The voices fell quiet and a tense, expectant atmosphere came into the space he was in.

His eyes cracked open, a blurry picture slowly focusing as he fully opened his eyes once more. He looked around. All the Avengers were in the medbay, sitting near his bed. Wanda was closest to him, her face tearstained and Vision comforting her. 

“You came back,” she whispered, eyes filled with indescribable relief.

The rest of the Avengers smiled wearily at him, all dressed in normal clothes. 

“How long was I under?” he asked, starting to sit up.

Wanda pushed him back down.

“Rest,” she told him, “They hurt you pretty badly. You had to be kept under for a few days.”

He nodded, exhausted.

“Is everyone ok? What happened?” 

“We came to find you, маленький паук, you didn’t expect us to leave you there, did you?” Natasha smiled at him.

Peter smiled back. “Thank you.”  


* * *

One month later, Peter adjusted the straps on his shoulders, staring at the gates of the school. Wanda and Vision stood with him, giving him reassuring looks as he took a deep breath as he looked around. All the Avengers were scattered nearby, some doing a very good job of hiding, others not so much.

The assassins stood at the corner, seemingly chatting, while Steve and Tony not-so-conspicuously stood next to a car, their glasses and caps doing a horrible job of disguising themselves. It was a wonder that no one had spotted them yet. Sam and Rhodey were sitting in a cafe, coffee in front of them as they surveyed the area. Peter looked up and spotted Clint hiding in the shadows on a building, fully geared up with bows and arrows.

Peter grinned at all of them as he cautiously stepped in school. Side-stepping Flash and his goons, he joined Ned and MJ who immediately started bombarding him with questions. MJ punched his arm lightly.  
“Where were you, loser? We need you for AcaDec!”  
“Yeah dude, she’s been out of it since you disappeared!”

MJ glared at Ned.  
“You wanna say that again?”  
He gulped.  
“Uh, no thanks.”

Peter cracked a small smile as they headed off to maths together. He gave one last glance back to the undercover Avengers, content at last.

Yes, he was still broken.

Yes, it would take time to heal.

Yes, it was going to be difficult.

Yes, he would never truly be out of danger.

But in truth, if you have those who actually make life worth living around you, you will be able to defeat whatever shit life decides to throw at you next.

And Peter was ready for that.

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh that took so long to write I spent so long agonising over it! I hope you enjoyed it, please give feedback and just know that I love you all. I’m sorry for the wait, it’s really hard to feel motivated with the current situation, but I’m already thinking out a plot for a new fic.


End file.
